Charge! Part 41

"Um? Joeboy think so," he always replied. "Wait till light come. Soon know then."

Words of wisdom these, of course; but though we kept on in what we believed a straight line for our goal, the line we were taking might be right away from the camp, or we might be proceeding in a curve which would bring us within easy reach of the enemy-perhaps as near as when we started. Truly we were in the dark; and as the air grew colder towards daybreak, everything looked, if possible, blacker still.

"Morrow morning," said Joeboy, suddenly coming back to where I trudged alongside one of the wagons, whose drivers appeared to be all asleep.

I looked in the direction he indicated, and there was a faint dawn low down on the horizon.

"Then we're going wrong, Joeboy," I said; "that's the east."

"Um!" he said. "Too much that way. Going right now."

I looked back in the direction of the Boer camp, but nothing was visible there. It seemed as if the darkness lay like a cloud upon the earth; but, upon turning again to look in the way the heads of the oxen were pointed, I could see what looked like a hillock in the distance. Fixing my eyes upon it, I could gradually see it more distinctly, and in a few minutes' time made out that what had seemed like one hillock was really two-the one natural, the other artificial: in other words, the pile of ironstone and granite in one case, the built-up stronghold in the other.

"Joeboy," I said, beckoning him to one side after a furtive glance at the black foreloper, "we're a long way off, and the Boers will miss the wagons and see us soon."

"Um? Yes," he said coolly.

"Do you think that you can get the bullocks to go faster?"

"Um? No," he said. "Must go like this."

"But the Boers will come after us as soon as they see us."

"Um? Yes; but can't see us yet. When Doppie see us Boss Denham see us too, and come along o' fighting boys."

"Yes; I had half-forgotten that," I replied. Not thinking of anything more to say, I trudged on. At last, as the light grew stronger, Joeboy turned to me to say:

"Boss Val see Doppie now?"

I looked back in the direction of the enemy's lines and shaded my eyes; but nothing was discernible.

"I can't see them yet," I said.

"Um? No. Joeboy can. Can't see a wagons yet."

"They can't see the wagons?" I cried. "How do you know?"

"Come on horses after us," he said. "Gallop fast."

"Of course," I replied, and looked anxiously at our great, lumbering prizes, wis.h.i.+ng I could do something to hurry the bullocks on; but wis.h.i.+ng was vain, and I knew all the time it would be madness to attempt to hasten the animals' pace, and likely only to end in disaster.

The darkness, which had appeared to be low between us and the Boer lines, now began to turn of a soft grey, which minute by minute lightened more and more, and rose till it looked like a succession of horizontal streaks, beneath which lay something disconnected and strange, but which gradually took the form of a long line of horses, broken here and there by little curves which, by straining my eyes, I made out to be wagon-tilts seen through the soft pale-bluish air. Next, on turning sharply to look in the direction of our comrades, there were the old piled-up walls of our stronghold clearly marked against the sky.

"It's a long, long way yet, Joeboy," I said.

"Yes, long way," he replied.

"Can you see the Boers on the move?"

He shook his head, and then hurried to the foreloper, a heavy-looking black, who was signalling to him.

Chapter Twenty Eight.

An Unexpected Obstacle.

"What does he want?" I muttered to myself as I looked on curiously, for I could not hear what was said; but, to my horror, there appeared to be something like a quarrel, as the foreloper suddenly threw down the long bamboo he carried and then squatted upon the ground.

In an instant the shaft of Joeboy's a.s.sagai fell with a sounding thwack across the man's bare shoulders, making him spring to his feet and s.n.a.t.c.h a knife out from his waistcloth. My hand went to my revolver, and I ran to Joeboy's aid; but there was no need. In an instant the glistening blade of my companion's a.s.sagai was pointed at the foreloper's throat, making him recoil; and then, in response to a threatening thrust or two, the man picked up his long, thin bamboo and replaced his knife, while Joeboy, pointing fiercely to me, rated the man in his own tongue.

"What is it, Joeboy?" I asked as the man went back to the head of the bullock-team.

"Um? Say want to 'top and rest bullocks and make fire for breakfast, Boss. I say he go on till we get to laager. Say he won't, and Joeboy make um. Boss Val put little 'volver pistol away and unsling gun; pretend to shoot um."

I did as Joeboy suggested, and the man went down upon his knees and laid his forehead upon the earth. I needed no telling what to say next.

"Get up! Trek!" I shouted as fiercely as I could. The man leaped to his feet and urged the bullocks on, while the driver on the box made his great two-handed whip crack loudly in the quiet of the morning. The actions of these two being taken up by the men with the wagons behind, the bullocks for a time went on at the rate of quite another half-mile an hour extra.

"Um!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Joeboy, with a look of satisfaction in his eyes; "rifle gun reach long way. Boss Val see boy not driving well, pretend to send bullet in um head, and make um jump along. Ha!"

Noticing that the black was using his hands like a binocular gla.s.s, and looking back, I asked anxiously, "What is it?"

"Um? See Doppie coming now?"

I looked, but could make out nothing; yet I was satisfied it was so. I now gazed eagerly in the direction of our goal, for Joeboy had first turned his eyes there.

"Can you see help coming, Joeboy?" I asked anxiously.

"Um? No," he replied.

"Then it's all over," I said in despair.

"Um? Yes, here um come."

"Ah!" I cried, remembering now the signal agreed upon. "Is it the Lieutenant-Mr Denham?"

"Joeboy can't see so far as that," replied the black. "Only see horses coming fas'. Coming to fetch wagons and plenty mealies and flour. Boys all say 'Hurrah!' and make all horses laugh."

"But do you think they will get here first?"

"Um? Yes. Doppie got longer way to come."

"Ha!" I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, with a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later the foreloper on whom so much depended-guided, no doubt, by our anxious looks in one direction-made out the coming of our friends, and I saw his eyes open widely till there was a great opal ring round the dark pupils. Looking at me despairingly, he pointed with his long bamboo in the direction of the galloping troop.